Uber shares one number to tell everyone, how 'unpopular' AI Agents may be on its platform

Tech giants and venture capitalists have spent billions hyping the rise of autonomous personal AI agents. They are selling or rather promising a future where software handles everyday tasks like hailing rides and ordering food. But it seems that in the real-world, consumers are still tapping their own screens. During Uber’s third-quarter earnings call, executives disclosed that only four rides worldwide were hailed via an AI agent during the week of Halloween — traditionally regarded as the company’s busiest week of the year.Few hundreds from millionsDeliveries through Uber Eats saw slightly more activity, but the numbers remained negligible. Uber Chief Financial Officer Balaji Krishnamurthy reported that out of roughly 320 million total trips and food delivery orders completed that week, just 500 meals were ordered using an AI intermediary.“It is very, very early and very limited traction that we are seeing so far,” Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi told analysts. “Listen, we hope that there will be more traction.”The negligible adoption highlights a stark divide between Silicon Valley’s ambition and everyday consumer behavior. The race to develop agentic AI has ignited massive funding rounds and corporate repositioning across the tech sector. Technology giants such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and SpaceXAI (developer of Grok) have all rolled out task-oriented assistants. Yet public earnings reports reveal that real-world integration remains almost nonexistent. Just last week, delivery rival DoorDash disclosed on its own earnings call that it had recorded only a few hundred AI-initiated orders, noting that users overwhelmingly stick to native apps.Khosrowshahi attributed the muted adoption to simple efficiency. Booking a ride in the standard Uber app takes an average of 50 seconds, he noted, while reordering a favorite meal takes roughly 90 seconds, this actually leaves little friction for an AI agent to solve.Even so, Uber leadership remains optimistic that the technology will eventually expand the company’s footprint. Khosrowshahi noted that roughly eight major assistants currently populate the market, a figure he expects to surpass 10 as adoption matures. “We think that is another opportunity to reach our platform,” Khosrowshahi said. “We think it will be a net positive in terms of demand on the ecosystem.”